Each community focuses on a key area of the training and development field and is led by a community manager whose in-depth knowledge will ensure that the content, offerings, and resources are consistent with your needs.

When Learning Steps in, Success Improves

George A. Wolfe is former vice president of global learning and
development at Steelcase University. Shawn E. Merritt is president
of SDI Consulting. They spoke with Learning Executives Briefing on
the value that the learning organization can bring to the planning
and implementation of new technology initiatives in any company.

Learning Executives Briefing: Why do so many
technology implementations in organizations fail to produce the
intended results?

George Wolfe: Before we get into the why, let me
share some statistics that we've uncovered. A 2007 Gartner Inc.
study found that 66 percent of all enterprise-wide IT initiatives
fail to reach their goal one year after implementation. A year
after that, IAG found that the figure was 68 percent. And informal
research that Shawn and I have conducted suggests the number is as
high as 70 percent. The question becomes: Why does something we are
sure is going to work fail in its implementation one year after its
launch?

LXB: Why, if all the research shows most of these
technology implementations will fail to meet their goals, do
organizations repeat the same mistake?

Shawn Merritt: The organization understands it has
to spend money on software, and the IT function does a good job of
implementation. The question is: How quickly does the organization
perform in a way that creates value? It rarely has to do with
software or how well IT did its job implementing the software. For
the organization to gain value, the technology has to be adopted
and integrated into the way work gets done. What we are suggesting
is that if you spend a little more time and money (on the desired
organizational performance) you will accelerate your
return-on-investment. The traditional method of implementing
software systems is the organization determines business
requirements, IT determines technical requirements, and then they
design, build, buy, and then test a solution. Then they think about
implementing the solution. What we are saying is there's an
opportunity to change the paradigm by having the learning function
involved at the beginning. Learning has the experience in
large-scale behavioral change implementations. That is what
training is all about: changing behavior of individuals and
eventually changing the behavior of organizations.

LXB: How does the learning organization create or
enable this change?

Merritt: What we suggest is rather than having a
plan that jumps from business requirements directly to technical
requirements, involve people who understand organizational
performance earlier in the process. We can help influence and help
illustrate that a technical implementation is not the same as
business value. We are not trying to change the behavior of IT. We
are trying to change the attitudes of the people who will be using
the software. Don't just show up at the end and offer to do
training at the tool level. Show up early and help expand the
mindset of business leaders that this is about changing
performance, not implementing software.

LXB: How do you help convince a reluctant IT
organization to follow this model?

Advertisement

Wolfe: One way is to show up with the research
that illustrates the problem. Gartner and others are respected
organizations in the IT field. If you bring this kind of
statistical muscle into the discussion, it at least focuses their
attention. Once IT is educated as to what the learning organization
can do to make a difference, it becomes a win-win for everyone.

Merritt: To get the return-on-investment, you have
to connect the organizational behavior with change. And those two
together make the difference. What we are suggesting is that
learning people have a lot more knowledge about organizational
behavior change than IT does. A quality system, plus adoption
equals effectiveness. We are trying to articulate that the learning
function has tools and resources regarding adoption that the IT
people don't. It plays out as a simple formula.

Wolfe: In a recent T+D article, we wrote about how
the learning function can help improve the overall performance of
an organization, and that is all we are talking about here. This is
another frontier and a way to achieve a win-win for the
organization.

LXB: Do changes in the economic environment, as
well as speed-of-business pressures, fuel the need for this kind of
partnership?

Merritt: This is more important now. Maybe more
than ever. Anybody can spend the money. The question is: Did you
get a return on your investment? IT measures itself on speed of
implementation. We suggest that a partnership with learning can
increase the speed and quality of results, because learning can
make sure that the technical solution drives the performance that
the business requires. When it plays that role, the outcome can be
much different.

Wolfe: This scenario can also play out the same
way within any function in the enterprise. Learning leaders, who
have been on the road to organizational performance improvement for
15 years or more, are probably the best suited to lead these
conversations.

You May Also Be Interested In

Recent studies in neuroscience, along with research in cognitive psychology and classic theories in adult education, put training professionals in the position to craft powerful learning experiences. “Memory and Cognition in Learning” reviews the current body of knowledge to explain how the brain responds to factors such as stress and emotion, and the role of both learner and trainer in the learning experience."

Not all activity leads to learning. Move beyond the myths with an evidence-based approach.Seasoned technical trainer Ruth Colvin Clark has synthesized the findings of today’s crucial learning research into a noteworthy refresher of her 2010 book. Delve into the foundational ideas of evidence-based practice and discover a clear pathway to applying best practices to the creation of your instructional products.Follow along as Clark dissects popular training myths and offers best practice guidelines. You’ll drill into the evidence on use of graphics, text, and audio and walk away with tactics for implementing two of the most powerful instructional methods associated with learning: examples and practice. "

Chockfull of myth-busting research and ready-to-use tools, anddelivered in a lighthearted and entertaining style, the updated,expanded, and enhanced second edition of Telling Aint Training setsnew standards for the training industry."

Planning and Organizing Training Programs and Events This Infoline covers the logistical aspects that go into making a training program successful and describes the essential knowledge, skills, and tools that organizers need to ensure a successful training event."